This isn’t a “before and after” story… not yet. It’s more of a “before and during” story. Uptown, on Nashville Avenue, there once stood a humble bungalow, quaint and pretty and respectful of the lot where it stood and the houses adjacent to it. As happens quite regularly to quaint and pretty houses in New […]
Category: Land Use
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
$166G in taxpayer loans, yet council member's property still a wreck
Nine-month deadline passes, but councilman’s property shows little evidence of generous government support.
Posted inSquandered Heritage
Two council members continue work stoppage
More reporters than City Council members attended today’s non-meeting of the city’s legislative branch, which again was stymied by the absence of Jon Johnson and Cynthia Hedge-Morrell.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Investigations, Land Use
Katrina Cottages: Years late and $1 million over budget in the 9th Ward
An emergency housing program finally reaches the market at a cost half again as high as budgeted.
Posted inSquandered Heritage
A blog reborn: The 'heritage' that gave rise to The Lens
Newcomers to this site may not be aware that before there was The Lens there was a blog called Squandered Heritage. With help from a wee band of fellow zealots, I devoted Squandered Heritage to the task of chronicling the parlous state of the built environment in New Orleans post-Katrina, with particular attention to the city’s priceless residential architecture.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
City contractor accused in kickback deal is set to plead guilty and is cooperating
As expected, a one-time city contractor facing federal charges in a Nagin-era kickback scheme is cooperating with investigators and is set to plead guilty next week, according to his attorney and U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office. Earl Myers, who ran Myers & Sons and Excel Development contracting services, stands accused of collecting more money than […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Investigations, Land Use
Despite $200,000 in recovery grants, Treme mansion faces demolition
Whether a Treme house gets demolished or purposely dismantled — in spite of the city’s stop-work order — it’s clear that thousands in rebuilding money isn’t saving an architectural gem.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Demolition order raises tricky question: When is a rundown shotgun really a signpost?
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | One of the great philosophical conundrums of our time played out before the Neighborhood Conservation Committee this week: when is a house a billboard (and vice versa.) At issue was the city’s desire to demolish a blighted Ninth Ward shotgun alongside the old concrete bridge that carries […]
Posted inLand Use
Judge calls Newcomb Boulevard fence illegal; residents’ attorney vows to appeal ruling
City Council approval is needed for fences that block city traffic, a judge ruled Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Keith Hardie A drawn-out battle over the right to gate a public street reached a milestone Tuesday when a Civil Court judge ruled in favor of keeping Newcomb Boulevard open. Residents of Newcomb Boulevard, a ritzy Uptown […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Months-long blight fight pushes Mid-City man into ranks of New Orleans' homeless
Lane Hughes stood his ground last June as city deferred decision on whether to demolish his rundown home. (photo: Karen Gadbois) By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | With its tangled title, backed-up taxes, and an ambience that hovers somewhere between junkyard and barnyard, it’s no showplace. But for Lane Hughes, the waterless wreck […]